Canucks second half must be equal to the first

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa (3) makes his way to the dressing room after getting hit in the face.

Photograph by: JONATHAN HAYWARD
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - Just past the middle of the first period Monday, Kevin Bieksa hobbled off the ice after being struck in the face by the puck, and for 5½ minutes the Vancouver Canucks played without four injured defencemen.

On one shift, the Canucks used a defence duo of Frankie Corrado and Yannick Weber, and on another shift the Philadelphia Flyers made it 1-0.

Then Bieksa, his face battered but no longer bleeding, returned. And while we can't say everything was fine after that for the Canucks, who blew a late lead and lost 4-3 in a shootout, things are certainly better than if Bieksa had remained in the dressing room with top blueliner Alex Edler (knee), sixth man Ryan Stanton (ankle) and depth defenceman Andrew Alberts (head).

Despite a series of December injuries, including a broken jaw to front-line winger Alex Burrows and a strained groin suffered by starting goalie Roberto Luongo, the Canucks had a brilliant month, which gave them a good opening half of the National Hockey League season. Now, they need a second half that's equally strong.

A healthy defence would help. So would a power play, which was 0-for-4 against the Flyers and, except for one three-week surge, has had awful results all season.

But, really, there is little for which to fault the Canucks through the first three months of the season, except for taking much of the fall to learn new coach John Tortorella's go-go-go system.

“I think we understand how we play and everybody is comfortable with that,” Tortorella said just before the game. “Some of the most important things when you get into the second half of the year and into playoffs – if we're fortunate enough to get there – is situational play. I talk about it a lot. Everybody asks me: What's situational play? There are a lot of things. It's so many things.

“It's how you win games. Understanding how to get momentum back on your side, how to keep it on your side. Third periods – down by a goal, up by a goal. All those things have to become second nature and we've still got a lot of work to do in that area.”

Apparently so.

The Canucks' situational play in the final minute of regulation – to use a technical term favoured by Tortorella – sucked.

After getting a lucky, but not undeserved, go-ahead goal by Daniel Sedin at 17:12 of the third period, the Canucks couldn't defend their lead. Their coverage on a defensive-zone faceoff disintegrated, and Flyer Brayden Schenn tied it on a tap-in with 46.8 seconds remaining and Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason on the bench for an extra skater.

Flyer Vince Lecavalier scored the only goal of the shootout, as Philadelphia won despite being outshot 44-27.

The one-point loss deprived the Canucks of the best December in franchise history. Vancouver ends the month 10-1-2, behind by a fraction only the 11-1-2 achieved in the final month of 2010. The best month ever for Vancouver was a 12-1 November in 2002.

So December, 2013, with injuries and travel and four back-to-backs was pretty remarkable.

It gives the Canucks an eight-point cushion in the Western Conference playoff race.

“We realized at the time, when we started winning, we had to get on a roll or we were going to be out of the playoffs,” Sedin said. “And a lot of points out of the playoffs. We climbed back in, and now we need to keep going.

“The feeling we have right now is a great feeling. We feel we're going to win every game. For sure, we've won games because of this mindset.”

But confidence and positive energy got them only one point on Monday, giving the 23-11-7 Canucks 53 through 41 games. Their second half starts Wednesday with a New Year's Day game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vancouver's six games after that are against Stanley Cup contenders: the Los Angeles Kings (twice), Anaheim Ducks (twice), Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

We're going to know more about the Canucks two weeks from now, and they're going to know more about themselves.

Luongo, who had a lengthy practice session Monday morning, should be the first injured player back. Edler, out since Dec. 3, may be ready by the middle of the month.

What else do the Canucks need in the second half?

“More Decembers,” defenceman Dan Hamhuis, who played a staggering 32:30 on Monday, said. “We just have to build off what we're doing. Our penalty kill has been great, but we'd like better results for our power play. Our goaltending has been great. We just have to continue to play good defence and find small ways to get better.

“You get a new coaching staff with new systems and new ways to play, and a run like this really solidifies everyone's belief in our style of play and our identity.”

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